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The national swimming federation has moved to suppress labeled as “false information” and “made-up statements” associated with swimmer Mollie O’Callaghan about transgender athlete Lia Thomas.

Online Posts Circulate Inaccurate Statements

A statement attributed to O’Callaghan but not shared from her online platforms has been seen in posts on the social media site Facebook, as well as on X, and implied the elite athlete would boycott in the 2028 Olympics if a transgender athlete is cleared to race.

These words incorrectly linked to O’Callaghan included a provocative comment that “being in the same lane with Lia Thomas is truly an disgrace and a embarrassment”.

Formal Statement from Swimming Australia

The organization backed the Olympic champion in a statement labeled with “fake quotes attributed to Dolphin Mollie O’Callaghan”.

“Currently, we see false statements attributed to team member Mollie O’Callaghan circulating on online content,” Swimming Australia announced this past Sunday.

“Never has O’Callaghan been interviewed and made statements on transgender athletes.

“Facebook’s parent company has been advised of the fake news, and O’Callaghan and Swimming Australia have asked the posts to be removed.”

Current Status and Context

Updates that contain the statement attributed to O’Callaghan were still visible on Facebook on the following day, while a Meta spokesperson stated that “we are reviewing the appeal”.

The organization declined to make more details.

American transgender athlete Lia Thomas is barred from racing in the women’s events under current World Aquatics guidelines and failed to overturn the rules in the period before the Olympic event.

The governing body introduced rules in recent years which forbid anyone who has undergone “any part of male puberty” from the female category.

About Mollie O’Callaghan

O’Callaghan is a multiple Olympic gold medallist after defeating teammate Ariarne Titmus in the 200-meter freestyle final at the 2024 Paris Games along with being part of four winning relays.

The 21-year-old added a freestyle global championship to her accolades in Japan in July this year.

O’Callaghan was racing in a World Cup short course meet in Indiana last weekend and outpaced the opponents by a significant margin to win the freestyle race in a record time of 1:50.77.